Is Alberta’s new distracted driving law making much of a difference? Good question.

Based on what I’ve seen on Calgary streets and freeways, there are still plenty of drivers interpreting Bill 16 fairly loosely. Calgary police handed out a whopping 1,456 tickets for distracted driving in the new law’s first four months. Fines of $172 each may have changed a few motorists’ minds. But as thisvideo report from Edmonton finds, old habits don’t change overnight.

If you take the long view, though, public attitudes do change over time on issues of public safety. Remember when being forced to wear a seatbelt seemed like an imposition? “Normal behaviour” has shifted in all sorts of areas over the years, such as littering, recycling, and smoking in public. The long arm of the law, combined with a little public education (re-education?), has a way of influencing culture.

That explains why five Calgary high schools, the Alberta Motor Association and the Calgary Police Service combined resources to try and change attitudes among our youngest drivers. Early in April the partners announced a video initiative to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving. Students from Lord Beaverbrook, Crescent Heights, Lester B. Pearson, Notre Dame and St.Francis high schools were invited to write, shoot and produce short videos asking “What are you doing behind the wheel?” Now readers can see the results of the students’ creativity, vote for their favourite video, and take a pledge against distracted driving.

The messages in the videos are both engaging and sobering. Students put some thought into their work. At the moment, the Crescent Heights video, below, is solidly in the lead of the voting sweepstakes.

“It’s critical that we make connections with young drivers and help them to understand what’s at stake when you drive distracted,” says Sharon Grolmus, with AMA Driver Education.

But preaching from the front of the class isn’t always the most effective way to reach young drivers.

“When you have kids talking to kids, they generally pay attention and they relate to that,” says traffic education Const. Jim Lebedeff, with Calgary police. “I think the students having done these videos and showing them in the schools, trying to get kids to take the pledge, that will really help.”

Since the new law took effect, Lebedeff has witnessed one new trend, and not only among teenagers. “The newest craze I’ve seen is when people are caught in traffic, or they’re at a red light,” he says.

“The head goes down, staring at the kneecaps, right? Okay, I don’t know too many people who drive that way. So you’re probably reading a text, sending a text, or hanging onto a cellphone.”

Lebedeff believes both ticketing and public awareness are strategies needed to changing driver behaviour.

“It’s going to be a little while,” he says. “The law has only been in effect since September. It’s going to be just like seatbelts, it’s a cultural change. We have to keep hammering that message home. There’s going to be some crashes along the way. But as long as we keep pounding the pavement and sending that message – yeah, it’s against the law, but it’s dangerous – I think eventually people will get it.

“When you’re driving down the highway, would you shut your eyes for five or 10 seconds? People say that’s crazy. So why would you take your eyes off the road and look at your cellphone reading or sending a text message, because that’s no different.”

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